Hodgkins Residents Return After Scare

April 03, 1986

About 100 residents of south suburban Hodgkins returned to their homes early Wednesday after being evacuated because of odors linked to an oil and sludge removal company. Hodgkins police said they received calls Tuesday night about a bad smell, and it was traced to the Beaver Oil and Sludge Removal Co., 6037 Linzi Ave. Investigators found that fumes were leaking from an oil reprocessing tank that did not have a lid. State Environmental Protection Agency officials were called to the scene, and an evacuation was ordered. Residents were not in any danger from the fumes, but there was a possibility that some people might have become nauseous from breathing the fumes over a long period of time, police said.